“The Final would have been nice, you don’t get the chance to play such a game in the Maracanà every day. But had we got there then we would have perhaps had to play on all fours…”

GigiBuffon unveils Italy’s new 4-4-4-4-4-4 formation

“Hopefully they’ll be tired....”

Claudio Marchisio saw an upside to Spain’s alleged hotel room frolics with local ladies, but sadly it didn’t affect their shooting

“I feel like a loser having to leave like this.”

At least Mario Balotelli missed the semi-final due to injury rather than suspension

“The statistics say we move the ball well and that is what we must try to do.”

DemetrioAlbertini ignored the statistics about moving the ball into the net

“Balotelli told me it was too hot and he wasn’t accustomed to this sort of environment, so I told him he’d better start getting used to the heat.”

Neymar insists it isn’t diving if you are fainting from sunstroke

“This enthusiasm is exactly what we wanted, as it’s great for Tevez and the team.”

Marotta wonders why NicklasBendtner didn’t have a similar effect last year

“I would compare the situation of clubs to a manager put in prison because he had to sell helicopters to India and if he didn’t give a percentage to the Indian go-between, the helicopters wouldn’t get sold. Unfortunately, the clauses in most contracts now say you have to pay the agent a certain amount.”

MaurizioZamparini’s simile can be extended, for football is like modern warfare – you often end up getting shot at by weapons you sold

“We will know everything by July 20. If not, I'll smack him!”

Aurelio De Laurentiis puts the ‘dead’ in EdinsonCavani’s deadline

“I've asked my family thousands of times to please not talk anymore, because it harms me.”

Christmas dinner is thoroughly awkward in the Cavani household

“After this week I will be at FIFA’s side in a bid to abolish third-party investors. They are bandits. Football is something else entirely. Felipe Anderson won’t give up, as he 100 per cent wants Lazio, but we have to battle bandits...”

Agent Stefano Castagna has to stand and deliver image rights and performance-related bonuses

“I thank QPR, who were the only club who wanted me.”

Julio Cesar finally explains why he went to Loftus Road

“Football teams in Italy traded on revenues and a certain amount of ego. We didn’t do this for ego. We are branding Rome.”

Calcio fans prefer good old-fashioned ego to Roma President James Pallotta’s management speak

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